Blind, Deaf Sue for Accessible Websites

3/22/2013 1:07PM

Advocates for disabled Americans say companies have a legal obligation to make their websites as accessible as their stores, and the lawsuits are following. Joe Palazzolo and Serotek Corp. founder and CEO Mike Calvo, weigh in on Lunch Break. Photo: Target.com.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... I ... all wine companies being the only apply ... to make your site accessible to the decline in the depths of the losses are putting this question to be tested to explain his job tells all of these the Wall Street Journal reporter covering this issue wheels of my Calvin is founder and CEO said to corp which makes software to enable excess ability for the blind thank so much ... to both of you for being here ... Joe what's start with you several advocacy groups filing lawsuits ... on to basically force companies to make their sites would easily accessible however these losses played out so far read so most of them actually and not that the court said ... know this'll all the Americans with disabilities Act doesn't quite doesn't extend to the online space ... um but a couple of big decisions against Target and Netflix ... in cases these were to spill the lawsuits and the court said in that argument is that we get it you know if the websites an extension of the retailer ... then you know this this ability will clients in the other one for Netflix to said ... look ... the digital space is just as physical space and we think the images that I think that this low-cost itself ... because obviously whenever into effect this was an issue at the time ... the Emerald whether robots ... IDs Mike I should have turned you know you were born blind on CQG advocate this point ... op or the blind in particular we care company in yet ... don't necessarily think that wall since our the solution here why is that ... well Wendy and I don't think that anybody likes to have the legal ... sword held to their throat or gun to their head and said you better do this just because it's legal or not it just makes good business sense ... there are millions of blind Americans there are hundreds of millions of wine consumers all over the world and I believe that we we represent a very good consumer base ... will we do need to whisper blind folks to begin to advocate for themselves is that it is depending on one or two particular ... consumer groups to call themselves the police of the blind it there's certainly a voice but ... we all have individual voices and I believe the collective is a ... very yet able to fend for itself in many respects by advocating a state you help us by making your ... sites or software on a mobile phone or computer accessible than will buy ... I do you think that collectively to speak of it is big enough ... ought to be on market forces that will ... enforce change on its own with out over there the firm ego impetus to do so ... again I a I agree with you all else fails ... due to legal thing ... but nobody likes to be regulated in regulation is just a big blanket that make some things ... I mean for example graphic arts why is a morning person what I wanted graphic arts website accessible ... if they make it ... everybody has to make their website accessible nine year you're putting in and do burden on somebody that it really doesn't ... help of a car driving site you know an airplane flying site Meetic and a ridiculous for me but ... you don't so let's try an advocate for sells its creative dialogue between the consumer ... and the provider of the prospect or services if you listen this is what we need so we can use your product again I believe that ... I mean it's it's it's money right there that when the screen is not one among your cited people money it's just mind ... for quite a package of Umansky this how much does it typically ... takes to make a website accessible mean just talking to some of the different players out there have ... been in the boring answers to various red ... but if you are trying to reference that it's it's the same asleep in ... the reckoning of the ... apostrophe it costs a lot of money ... time to get in there and and to make an ... entirely sensible ... um in in ... in in in spots like ten percent of your entire ... cycle so ... if you spend million dollars of website which is not a common unit of ... ten percent ... I'm so ... if you are answered doing it is to go long every time you update website in eastern builds and ... builds inaccessibility features the stunning costs much less that of its ... twenty oh one to three percent of the top so it just depends on how you do I do it and some these companies that do it's an ally like Apple in particular ... you tell them what they get done so far and say that ... I've that the proof is in how many people ... go Apple now because they have made their site accessible ... Apple is doing more with the growing consumer in the twentieth century than any mainstream non excess ability of the ... type of company in history ... Apple has really not much I don't sell Apple and not an Apple employee irritating Alison says that they have really done more for our community than anybody everybody else is kind of jumped on board ... but a blind person can right now walk into any Apple store by any Apple product ... off the shelf to get home an open their goodies to play with them themselves and it when you walk into a store you get when somebody that knows the stuff ... they greet you with respect and dignity Tisch RIL how that works and ... and really I mean and that's that's ... yes and bolting on is certainly much more expensive than building and but in technology Refreshes and all the recent refreshes itself all the time ... so and so the website so you know out their website redesign going on all the time ... and that excess ability roadmap has certainly been outdone very very well over the last few years so ... there really is no excuse for company and not to do it ... I think it's ignorance versus stupidity dealing with the PT to watch how this plays out in the marketplace and and of course Joe counselor thanks for being with us take Wall Street Journal thank you my Calvin thanks for being with us appreciate it